Papa has been writing a book..

about Nathan's drowning accident and such..

and he wants each of his children to write a small tid-bit about Nathan and what we've learned from him that papa can add to his book.

help me??

just tell me if I sound like an idiot. mkay? Because this book is going to be published for all the world to see. {meaning..all of Utah and those who shop at Desert Book.}

Here's mine: {unless you guys think it sounds stupid. Then I'll write up something else.}

Nathan and I are significantly close in age, so growing up we had most of the same friends and there was rarely a time when we did something without the other. I will always be able to recall my mom telling us of how we were "partners in crime", although I was always pretty good at getting Nathan blamed for our mischievousness. We liked to run around the neighborhood barefoot, eating our Ramen Noodle seasoning packets and dance to the Backstreet Boys on the brick wall on the side of our house. Nathan truly always has been my very best friend in the world.

The week Nathan's accident occurred, I was staying with a friend in Salt Lake City, and I used to get exceptionally homesick. Because of this, I would call home every night and talk to each member of my family. Nathan was the last person I talked to the day before his drowning and he knew how homesick I was, so he was telling me a few jokes before we had to hang up. The last words he said to me that night, which happened to be the last words I ever heard him speak, were, "Be safe, have fun, I love you, Kalynn!"

This memory stands as a reminder of how caring Nathan has always been. He was the peacemaker of our family, so it seems fitting now that he is still the one teaching us about love, humility, patience, optimism, and faith. Nathan's strength makes me stronger. It makes our family, as a unit, stronger. It makes every person he comes in contact with stronger. Not a day goes by when I am not profoundly influenced by Nathan and what he has to teach me. I truly believe that even through all of his pain Nathan is a happy person. If there is anything to learn from Nathan, it's that as long as you've got something to hold on to, whether it be family, or perhaps God, then you can choose to be happy and life is still worth living. And I believe Nathan does that perfectly.

As always,
Kalynn Eve.